Treasures
by FaithinBones
Summary: When a fire in Brennan's apartment building forces her to flee, she grabs her most precious treasures and takes them with her.
1. Chapter 1

(The Signs in the Silence)

A new story. I hope you like it.

I definitely don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Working on her latest novel, Brennan was in the midst of researching curare for a potential murder weapon when the fire alarms went off in the hallway. The screeching siren loud enough to be almost deafening even in her apartment, Brennan knew that there was a fire somewhere in the building.

Wasting little time, she grabbed her bag, stuffed it with her phone and laptop and raced to the front door. After she grabbed her keys out of the basket on the table near the door she made sure she had her wallet and opened the front door. The piercing sound much louder now, Brennan was almost out of the door when she realized that it was possible she could lose everything in her apartment. Racing back into the living room, she hurried over to the shelves, grabbed her two most prized possessions, jammed them into her bag and sped out of the apartment, slamming the door closed behind her.

Once she was in the hallway, she made her way to the stairwell and descended those stairs rapidly joined by residents on the lower floors. At the bottom of the stairwell, she and the others entered the lobby where security was moving all of the residents outside and away from the building. Her heart beating wildly, Brennan stood on the sidewalk across the street and observed a firetruck arrive shortly and several firemen disgorge out of the vehicle.

Not sure if she should try to rescue her car from the parking garage, Brennan decided she might get in the way of the firefighters and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Her eyes on the front of the building, she finally made a phone call.

 _Booth._

"Booth, I hate to inconvenience you, but do you think it would be possible to meet me outside of my apartment building and take me to a hotel?" Brennan observed another firetruck arrive and started to worry about just how big this fire really was.

 _What's going on? Why do you need me to take you to a hotel? Are you alright? What's that noise it sounds like sirens?_

She heard the concern in his voice and she knew her friend was worried for her. "I'm fine, Booth. There is a fire in my apartment building and I was forced to leave. I can't get to my car. If you can't come, I can get Hodgins to . . . "

 _No . . . no, I'm coming. Just give me a chance to put on some clothes . . . it's one in the morning, I'll be right there. Just hang on._

"I didn't realize it was so late." Brennan was embarrassed that she had woke up her partner. "I'll just call a cab."

 _No Bones . . . I'm coming. Just wait there . . . no cabs . . . I'm on the way._

Relieved that he was coming, Brennan smiled. "Thank you, Booth."

Ooooooooooooooo

After what seemed like a very long time to Brennan, Booth arrived. Unable to drive down the street even after he'd flashed his badge at a police officer, he was forced to park on a side street. After he exited the truck and after locking the door he ran down the sidewalk towards the focus of the fire department. Spying Brennan patiently waiting across the street from her apartment building, Booth jogged towards her. "Bones, I'm here."

Grateful that her partner had finally arrived, Brennan turned to face him. "Thank you for coming. I don't know what's happening and no one has come out of the building to inform us yet. I haven't noticed any flames or smoke, so I assume the fire may be at the back of the building."

Now that she was in his sight and he had confirmed that she was alright, Booth felt he could breathe easier and his heart started to beat at a more normal rate. "Well, it's getting late and it really won't do any good hanging around here. I'll take you back to my apartment and you can sleep in Parker's room."

"Booth, no." Brennan didn't really want to inconvenience him. "No that's alright. Just take me to a hotel. I'll be fine."

His arm around her shoulders, Booth steered her down the sidewalk towards his truck. "Don't be silly, Bones. You have that bag you keep at my place. You can sleep in Parker's room and you'll have access to a change of clothes . . . come on. No way you're staying in a hotel tonight, not if I can help it."

What he was saying did sound better than her plan. "Alright, thank you."

"Not a problem, Bones." Booth heard another siren coming down the street and started to worry that his partner might end up homeless before the night was done. "You can stay at my place as long as you need to. My house is your house."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Weary, Brennan followed Booth into his apartment. Once the door was closed and locked, Booth led the way into the living room. "Okay, you know where Parker's room is . . . I'll go get you a t-shirt and maybe some shorts . . .um, they'll be big, but it's better than you wearing nothing at all. _God did I just say that? Focus . . . focus._

Grateful for his kindness, Brennan walked over to the spare bedroom and entered the room. Placing the bag on the chair near the door, she sat on the bed and waited for Booth to come to her.

Once he was in the room with her, he smiled at her. "Here . . . if you want to take a bath or shower then go ahead."

Shyly, Brennan took the clothes and glanced at the door. A sly smile on her lips, Brennan stood up. "Perhaps I should take a shower now since your bathroom ablutions are so time consuming in the morning."

A look of irritation thrown her way, Booth placed his hands on his hips. "Making fun of me, Bones? Really? I like to look good what's wrong with that?"

Patting his shoulder as she walked by him, Brennan chuckled. "There is nothing wrong with that Booth. I for one appreciate that you smell good in the morning and look so handsome."

 _She likes how I smell?_ Booth turned and watched her leave the room. _She thinks I'm handsome? That is so hot._

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The next morning, Booth got up early enough to make pancakes. He made some bacon for himself while he was at it. Once the table was set and it was as late as Booth could wait and still get to work in time for a meeting with the Assistant Deputy Director, he knocked on the door of his son's bedroom and poked his head in the doorway. "Wakey wakey Bones. It's 7:45 and Cam has called over here twice looking for you. I told her about your situation, but she says Dr. Greenwood is going to be there at nine and she says he's a real bastard if you aren't there to hold his hand . . . You don't really hold his hand do you? That seems . . ."

"Booth . . . Booth I'm up." Still sleepy, she hated to admit that she had forgot all about Lynn Greenwood. "No I don't hold his hand. I'm not sure why she said that."

"She probably meant that you molly coddle the guy." Booth didn't want to assume anything since Squints weren't like normal people. "Breakfast is on the table. You hurry, you can eat some pancakes and drink some coffee before I take you to the Lab."

Dragging herself from the nice warm bed, Brennan swung her legs over the sides and sat up. "I can take a cab, Booth."

Annoyed, Booth shook his head. "Enough with the cabs, Bones. I'll take you. Chop chop. You need to move it now."

Her gaze filled with daggers, Brennan huffed and walked over to the closet to grab her bag she kept there for emergencies. "I'm moving, Booth. Don't be so bossy. I'm not in the mood this morning."

Well aware that Brennan really wasn't a morning person, Booth closed the door behind him and smiled. If there was one way to make her move faster he knew it was to irritate her. _She's so easy._

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

After she arrived at work that morning, she met Lynn Greenwood in Cam's office and they went over their plans to examine several skeletons found near Gettysburg. It was a long shot, but they hoped that they might be able to identify them or at least the area of the country they were from. Their goal was to inter them near relatives or the community they had grown up in.

Once the meeting was over, Brennan grabbed some coffee from the break room and called her apartment supervisor. Unable to reach him, she left a message. She really wanted to know if she was homeless or not. If she was, she needed to find another apartment and go shopping for new clothes.

"Sweetie, I heard about the fire at your apartment building." Angela rushed up the stairs, well since she was several months pregnant, rushed might have been a generous description. "I watched the news this morning and they mentioned the fire. One unit in the building was completely destroyed and three units were heavily damaged with smoke."

That was the first news she'd had about the fire and Brennan thought that sounded bad enough. "I've tried to call the Super, but he isn't answering his phone right now. I left him a message. I have no idea if my apartment was damaged or not."

"Honey, you can stay with Jack and I if you are homeless." Angela was anxious for her friend. "You can take your time finding a new place."

Thankful that she had kind friends. Brennan smiled. "Thank you, but I'm staying at Booth's apartment. Parker's room is comfortable and there is no need to inconvenience you while you are preparing for the birth of your child. I have some clothes there that I keep for emergencies, so I can put off shopping for a few days."

A sly smile on her face, Angela sat down next to Brennan on the couch. "So you're staying with Booth huh? And you keep clothes at his apartment? . . . Well, maybe you two can work on your partnership while you're there."

"There is nothing wrong with our partnership, Angela." Brennan loved Angela as a sister, but sometimes her friend saw trouble where there wasn't any. "Booth and I are fine. His anger is gone and he's accepted the fact that Hannah turned him down. He is back to his normal self now. Our friendship is as strong as it has ever been."

Angela laughed and patted Brennan's knee. "Of course it is, Bren. Of course it is."

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This story was going to be a one shot, but that's out of the window. Let me know if this sounds interesting. The title actually has meaning to the story. I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I really don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

The news was both good and bad. The fire had been on the third floor of Brennan's apartment building. It had destroyed one apartment and three others had sustained heavy smoke damage. Brennan's apartment had not completely escaped damage either. There was light smoke damage and her carpets and curtains were going to have to be cleaned or replaced. The apartment reeked of smoke and Booth thought it was stomach turning.

"Bones, hire those guys who specialize in cleaning up smoke damaged buildings and get them to clean up the mess for you." Booth held a handkerchief over his nose. "You can stay with me until then. We can grab some of your clothes and whatever else you want and we'll take them back to my place. We'll probably have to wash everything you bring because I got to tell you I think they probably stink by now. Once they clean this place up, we'll come back here and I'll help you wash everything that needs it."

Glumly, Brennan stared at her knickknacks and priceless artifacts from past digs and sighed. "I'll have to arrange for someone from the antiquities department at the Jeffersonian to clean the artifacts that I have here. I can't let a cleaning service do it. I'm just glad nothing was lost. Some of these artifacts are over 500 years old."

Determined to get her out of her apartment as fast as possible, Booth stuffed the handkerchief in his jacket pocket and tried to breathe with shallow breaths. "Come on. Let's grab some clothes and shoes and whatever else you need and get out of here. Maybe you should take your expensive jewelry too and anything you think is priceless or whatever."

Glad to have Booth helping her, Brennan moved over to her bedroom. "Yes, of course. I'll pack two bags of clothes and take them with me." Worried that she might be inconveniencing her friend, Brennan turned to look at him. "Are you sure it's okay to stay with you? I don't want to be in the way. I can always get a hotel room."

"You kidding me?" Booth walked past Brennan into her bedroom and looked around. "What are friends for if you can't stay with them when you need to?" Waiting for her to choose the clothes she wanted to take with her, Booth frowned. "Since Parker is in England right now his room isn't being used. You can stay as long as you need to. I mean it."

Their friendship had been strained for over a year, but Brennan knew that things between them had improved greatly since Hannah Burley had left. Booth no longer seemed to be angry with the world and Brennan was happy that she had her best friend back. "Alright, thank you." Grabbing some luggage from her closet, she placed them on the bed and started selecting the clothes she wanted to take with her. "You're right. I need to wash everything. My clothes really do reek of smoke."

While Booth helped Brennan pack, he thought about how he and his partner were more in tune with each other. Their lives had been disrupted when he'd been diagnosed with a brain tumor and their relationship had gone through many trials since then. He had made mistakes that had almost cost him the friendship of the best person he had ever known. He still regretted trying to push her into a relationship with him outside the Hoover. That fiasco made him cringe every time he thought about it. _Damn tumor. I won't make that mistake again._

Brennan packed quickly and once she had the clothes she needed along with some shoes, a sweater and a jacket, she looked through her jewelry box and removed the pieces that were insured. She left most of her costume jewelry behind. They were all replaceable. Once she was done, she picked up one of the bags while Booth carried the other one.

As they walked out to the parking garage to retrieve her car, Brennan thought about the last two years and she knew that she and her partner were finally where they should be with their relationship. She still regretted turning down Booth outside the Hoover, but that was the past and no one can change the past. She had so many fears at the time and little did she know that by saying no, she would shatter the center of her world, at least for a while.

It made her ill to think how close she had come to losing the best friend she had ever had. He loved her and she loved him and for the moment that was all she needed. If their relationship changed to something more intimate, she was prepared to accept that change. She had all the time in the world now and when Booth was ready for something more, she would be too.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Once they arrived back at Booth's apartment, they spent the evening washing Brennan's clothes and then drying them. While a game played on the television in the living room, Booth folded clothes and drank a beer. When he rummaged around the clothes basket and found Brennan's panties in his hand, he stared at them and wondered if it was appropriate for him to be touching her underwear. Since she was busy in the kitchen cooking her famous mac and cheese, Booth decided that folding her underwear wasn't that big a deal. _Hell, she's seen me in my underwear and she isn't even wearing these._

Once the clothes were folded, Booth carried them into his son's bedroom and placed them on the dresser. He decided to let Brennan place them in the dresser drawers since she probably had a system. Brennan always had a system and Booth knew that was important to her. She needed orderliness in her life. It helped her and he knew it.

As he moved to leave the room he noticed the plastic figurines on the nightstand and moved over to look at them closer. Picking up the plastic pig, Booth was reminded of the time he had bought it for her. He had wanted to buy her a real pig, but because of her work schedule and the fact that an apartment would have been the wrong place to raise a pet, he had bought her the toy instead. He was actually surprised she still had the pig and Brainy Smurf and to see them on the nightstand was a little puzzling. Not sure what it meant, he placed the pig back down on the nightstand.

After Hannah had turned him down, he had been very angry with her and all of the other women in his life, past and present. It had taken him weeks to come to the conclusion that being angry with them was ridiculous. He was drawn to strong independent women and that meant that they had their own life plans, their own agendas. None of the women he'd ever been involved with had been interested in marriage and he had known that up front. Stubbornly, he had thought that love would conquer those feelings and in the end one of them would marry him. He now knew that was wishful thinking on his part and he understood that if he wanted to be with women like Brennan that he would have to change his expectations in life.

He would like to get married someday, but if he didn't he could now accept it. It was better to be with the woman you love than married to someone just because they were willing to marry you. Sad that it had taken him so many years to realize that, Booth was grateful that he'd at least learned that lesson. His father had tried to control his environment and when he couldn't he'd been a terror to his family. He was not his father and he would not allow the failures in his past to turn him into a bitter hateful man.

Leaving the room, Booth strode across the living room and entered the kitchen. "Hey Bones, need any help with dinner? Your clothes are folded and in your bedroom."

Grateful for Booth's help, Brennan turned and smiled at him. "If you'd like to slice the French bread and place that on a plate that would be helpful."

While Booth sliced the crusty bread, he watched Brennan remove two small casserole dishes from the oven. "God that smells so good."

Pleased that her mac and cheese was cooked properly, Brennan carried them over to the kitchen table and placed the dishes next to the glasses of wine already on the table. "We need to let it cool for a few minutes."

Carrying the plate of bread along with a tub of butter to the table, he placed them in the center of the table and sat down. "I'm definitely going to hate to see you move back to your apartment, Bones. I love your cooking."

Brennan was flattered. "Thank you. I contacted the cleaning service and they can start on my apartment on Tuesday. I should be able to move back home next weekend."

The thought of Brennan moving back to her apartment somehow made him feel sad. "Okay."

Not sure why Booth had suddenly become subdued, Brennan picked up her glass of wine and sipped it. Since she wasn't very good at non-verbal communication, Brennan decided to ignore Booth's mood change. He'd been very moody since his break up with Hannah and this was probably just part of it.

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones, not even a little bit.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Their weekend was spent mostly at Booth's apartment. Booth had made pancakes for them on Saturday morning and after that, he'd cleaned his apartment with Brennan's help. Once that was done, she set up her lap top on the kitchen table and worked on her new book while Booth read a novel he'd started the weekend before.

The apartment was quiet and after a while, Booth turned on his stereo and played some soft jazz. A little bored, he sat down next to Brennan at the table and tried to see what she was typing. "What's your story about this time?"

Her concentration interrupted, Brennan knew that her partner was bored and that she was probably going to be unable to continue working on her novel. "I'm still working on the details so I'd rather not say."

Used to her reluctance to divulge particulars about her new books, Booth placed his hand on the back of her chair. "Okay, I get it . . . want to dance?"

Surprised, Brennan closed the file she was working on and closed the lid on her lap top. "If you want to." Rising, she waited for Booth to stand.

Booth hadn't really thought she would dance with him since she was working on her book, so he was delighted that she wanted to. Slowly moving from his chair, he took her hand in his hand and moved over to stand in front of his stereo. Her hands now on his shoulders, Booth placed his hands on the upper portions of her hips and slowly moved into a dance of sorts.

As they moved, Brennan felt a wave of happiness wash over her. She had danced with Booth before, but this dance seemed to be more intimate, more personal. "You dance very well, Booth."

Proud of his dancing skills, Booth smiled. "Thanks, I used to teach dancing part time when I was in college. It helped me pay the bills."

Intrigued, Brennan stared into his cheerful face. "That sounds like an interesting way to make money. I worked at book stores and part time as a Lab assistant to supplement my scholarships."

Their bodies close together, Booth felt her body shift even closer. In the past he would have been a little uncomfortable, but no longer. If Brennan wished to dance this close to him then he wasn't about to object. This was what their friendship was and he was never going to make her unhappy again. "This is nice."

"It is nice." Brennan hadn't been this relaxed in Booth's company in a long time. "We should dance more often."

As they swayed slowly around the small area, Booth felt like his life was finally moving in the right direction.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Late that afternoon, Booth had a hockey game and Brennan decided to go with him and cheer on his team. It had been almost a year since her last foray into an ice arena and she wanted to show Booth her loyalty as his team battled the Virginia State Police.

Sitting in the bleachers, Brennan was soon joined by Cam and shortly afterward by Lance Sweets. "Dr. Brennan I heard about your apartment. I hope you didn't lose anything."

Her eyes on Booth as he skated around the rink, Brennan shook her head. "No Dr. Sweets. Not really. Some of my things have light smoke damage, but they can be easily cleaned. I have hired a service to clean my apartment, except for my antiquities which the Jeffersonian will be handling." As Booth skated by, Brennan waved at him and he waved back.

"Where are you staying?" Sweets had noticed the shared smiles between the partners and was relieved that their friendship seemed to be repaired.

The hockey game starting, Brennan watched the hockey puck drop to the ice and the action begin. "I'm staying in Booth's spare bedroom until I can move back home. The cleaning people think my apartment will be fit for human habitation by next Friday."

Surprised and yet not, Cam smiled at Brennan. "Since Parker is in England, I imagine Booth would like a little company once in a while."

Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, he told me that too."

Sweets was filled with questions and was tempted to pump Brennan for information, but he reluctantly realized that he might trigger something unexpected. He blamed himself for Booth asking Hannah to marry him and Sweets was treading carefully around Booth and Brennan lately. After Booth had asked his girlfriend to marry him and she had turned him down, Sweets played out the conversations that Booth and he had had leading up to that event and he realized that he had probably influenced Booth more than he had meant to. Calling Booth old had probably been the trigger and he realized that his drunken prodding had almost caused Booth to lose Brennan's friendship. At least he thought it could have happened if Hannah had said yes and it made him sick to think about it. Frankly, it had scared the hell out of him that he had that kind of influence on the older man and he was trying to keep his opinions to himself at least for the moment.

Booth's friendship with Brennan seemed to be well on the way to recovering from the missteps from the last year and he for one didn't want to rock the boat.

As the game progressed, Cam watched Brennan go through a spectrum of emotions. When Booth's team scored, the anthropologist cheered loudly. When the opposing team scored she quickly called out to Booth that he shouldn't give up hope. A few times, Booth was hit with sticks and twice he was forced into a wall by an opposing team player causing him to fall to the ice. When those events occurred, Brennan had stood up staring at her friend and debated whether or not to race down to the ice to check on him. Each time, Cam had placed her hand on Brennan's arm and assured her that Booth was alright. "He's protected with a lot of padding and a helmet, he's alright."

Not sure she liked to see Booth being attacked, she knew it was part of the game and that Cam was correct. Forcing herself to sit down, Brennan knew that Booth would not appreciate it if she embarrassed him in front of his team mates.

Once the game was over, Brennan raced down the bleachers and out into the hallway. Once she was outside the dressing room, she waited impatiently for Booth to step outside. She was greatly tempted to enter the locker room and check on his injuries, but she remembered the last time she had done so and she knew that it had bothered him.

After a half hour had passed by, Booth finally left the room and met Brennan in the hallway. "Sorry Bones. We should have won, but well, the refs were blind as usual and gave the game to those whining bastards instead."

As he limped over to where she was standing, Brennan's concern grew. "Why are you limping?"

Not willing to admit that anything was wrong, Booth shifted his gear bag in his hands so that it was between Brennan and himself. "It's nothing don't worry about it."

"I will worry about it." Brennan stared at his left leg and noticed the way he was favoring it. "I think you sustained an injury when you were slammed against the wall in the final seconds of the game. I saw the opposing player hit you on your left thigh with his stick as you went down. You must had sustained a deep bruise. Your clothes can only protect you so much, but it isn't armor."

Since they were drawing a few looks from the wives of his fellow team mates, Booth shifted his bag to his other hand and placed his free hand on Brennan's arm. "It's okay. We can go home now." Moving away from the small crowd near the door, Booth glanced back and noticed quite a few smiles aimed at him and Brennan. With a wink to them, he turned back to face the long hallway. "I need to soak when I get home then I'll ice the bruise. Maybe we can have some pizza delivered and we can watch movies this evening."

Following Booth down the hallway, Brennan decided that he needed more than a hot bath. "I'll give you a massage after you take a hot bath. It might help."

Although a massage sounded good to him, Booth worried about Brennan giving him one. The last time she'd given him a massage, she had got pretty close to his junk and it had caused him a certain amount of anxiety. Not sure where their friendship was going, but certain that someday they might be a romantic couple if he had any say in it, he decided to risk it. After all, what could happen that didn't happen the last time?

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I really don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

After they ate a dinner of takeout pizza, Booth sat in his bedroom for about twenty minutes with a plastic bag filled with ice resting on his bruised thigh. Once that was done, he retired to the bathroom to take a very hot bath. The tub of hot water had helped his sore and aching muscles and for that Booth was grateful. After the water started to turn cold, he'd left his bath, drained the tub, wiped the floor dry and changed into a pair of shorts and t-shirt.

The living room was dark and Booth assumed that Brennan had gone to bed. After retrieving a baggy of ice for his bruised thigh, he entered his bedroom and he found her sitting on the edge of the mattress waiting for him.

"Would you still like a massage?"

Wary about the situation, Booth stood just inside the doorway and shook his head. "Nah, not really the hot water helped my sore muscles. I'm fine. I'm just going to ice the bruise."

Brennan was certain that Booth was being less than truthful. "You're still limping."

The sad look on her face made Booth rethink his answer. "Well, I didn't want to keep you up late. If you want to give me a massage, I guess it would be okay, I mean if you really want to that is."

Pleased that Booth had changed his mind, Brennan stood up and pointed towards the bed. "I removed the comforter and placed a blanket over the sheets. I want to use some baby oil on your muscles and I don't want it to ruin your bedding while I'm doing it."

Unable to find a way to get out of it without hurting her feelings, Booth moved over to the bed and laid down. Staring at the ceiling, he cleared his throat. "I guess it's a good thing Sweets isn't here. He'd just misinterpret what was going on."

"Yes, probably." Brennan felt that Booth cared too much about what other people thought of him, but that was Booth and nothing was going to change that. "He is emotionally immature for a man of his profession."

Booth continued to stare at the ceiling while he felt the bed shift as Brennan moved onto it. "He can't help it if he's twelve."

With the bottle of baby oil in her hand, Brennan moved so that she was on her knees next to Booth's prone body. Opening the cap on the bottle, she squirted some of the oil on her hand, closed the cap and placed the bottle down next to Booth's pillow. Gingerly, she moved her hands over to Booth's left leg and began to massage the tight flesh she found.

"I know the bruise is painful, so I won't be massaging that part of your thigh." Brennan was careful to avoid the deeply bruised flesh. "But your muscles are very tight and a massage may help that area of the leg." Brennan shifted her hands further from his knee.

Even though it was painful, Booth let her continue her massage. "Um, that feels pretty good. I think you're working the kinks out." As her hands moved steadily up his leg, Booth started to feel a little nervous. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her or himself with his lack of control.

With her thoughts on the last time she'd given him a massage on his legs, Brennan was careful to not touch him inappropriately. Their friendship was strong and fully restored, but she was certain that Booth wasn't ready for the next phase of their relationship and didn't want to push him faster than he was willing to go. "I'll do your other leg now."

While she worked on his right leg, Booth felt a sense of relief that she hadn't moved any further up his leg. She had come close to his penis, but managed to not touch him. _Thank God. That might have been embarrassing._ "Oh, I noticed that you still have Brainy Smurf and Jasper. I saw them in Parker's room."

As her oily fingers massaged Booth's right leg, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, I only had a few seconds to decide what to take with me when I fled my apartment and I decided to just take my most valuable possessions."

Shocked, Booth moved his elbows so they could support his weight as he moved to get a good look at his partner. "Your most valuable possessions? Those are just plastic toys. You have statues in your apartment that over 500 years old . . . you rescued toys?"

Her cheeks flushed, Brennan refused to look at Booth. "It doesn't matter what their market value is, Booth. They have intrinsic value to me. Those toys are my most valuable possessions. They are the only presents anyone has ever given me as an adult to give me comfort. Yes, I have received awards and I have been given valuable artifacts from various digs that I have participated in and yes we've exchanged Christmas and birthday presents, but Brainy Smurf and Jasper are the only presents anyone has ever given to me to make me feel better." Brennan turned her gaze upon Booth. "You gave those to me out of kindness and friendship and I treasure them. I didn't want to lose them in a fire. Not if I could help it."

Booth sat up and placed his hand around her left wrist. "Bones, you deserve a lot more than plastic toys. You always have."

His words were soft and filled with love. Brennan heard them and they touched her. "When I was taken into Foster Care I barely had time to pack some clothes and shoes. I didn't bring any of my toys with me because I knew I wasn't a child anymore. After I was separated from my parents and Russ, I never received any presents on my birthday or Christmas from my foster families. I no longer celebrated Christmas, so that didn't matter to me. After we became friends you and Angela gave me Christmas presents and birthday presents, but those felt obligatory to me . . . when you gave me Brainy Smurf and Jasper you didn't do it under any obligations. You gave them to me to out of kindness and to make me feel better.

He hadn't realized just how much his simple presents had affected her and it made him feel glad that he had given them to her, that his presents had given her comfort. "I'd give you the moon if I could."

The words were said so softly and filled with so much love that Brennan couldn't help but feel a little emotional. "Even . . . even though that is impossible, I do appreciate the sentiment behind your words. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Booth released her wrist. "Bones . . . are you strong now?"

Surprised with his question, Brennan slowly nodded her head. "Yes, I am very strong . . . Are you still angry?"

Booth shook his head. "No, I'm not." He was afraid to say anything else. He was not going to make the same mistake he'd made outside the Hoover. He would wait for her no matter how long it took.

Cautiously, Brennan moved closer towards Booth. "If I'm stronger and you're no longer angry, do you wish to move forward with our relationship? Would you like to wait until your date has arrived, the one you wrote on the piece of paper and burned?"

"Do you?" He was afraid to make the wrong move and ruin their moment. "I mean, no not if you don't want to . . . is this our time now? I don't want to push you into anything, Bones. I won't do that."

Filled with happiness, Brennan nodded her head. "Yes, I think it is our time." Trying to be gentle and not bump his bruised thigh, Brennan moved so that she was now sitting next to Booth, her hand on his upper thigh above his bruised flesh. "I'm ready to move into a monogamous relationship with you if you're ready Booth."

Unable to contain his pure joy, Booth turned his body so that he could pull her into his embrace. His bruised flesh protested with a jab of pain, but he could care less. "I love you Bones." Slowly, afraid he might be rushing her, he kissed her tenderly and waited to see if she would respond.

When their lips met Brennan knew that she was finally where she wanted to be. Booth was the one she loved the most and she was willing to risk her happiness to be with him. "I love you too, Booth."

Ooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you thought of it. Thank you. Two more chapters to go.

A/N: Reviews are indicators for authors and it lets the writer know if their story is fine or not. Writing is time consuming, but we do it because we love to write and we have story ideas that we want to share with other fans. We all hope our stories are worth reading, but the only way we can tell if our stories are being read it if you tell us. That is why we ask for reviews.


	5. Chapter 5

(The Hole in the Heart)

A/N: Remember, this story is rated T for a reason.

I really don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

At first, it seemed like a dream to both of them. Brennan had stayed the night in Booth's bedroom and they had both experienced the culmination of their dreams. Careful not to hurt Booth's leg any further they managed to consummate their relationship and they'd found the reality of the situation to be so much more satisfying than their fantasies had ever been.

Brennan was supposed to move back to her apartment the next Friday once the cleaning crew was done, but she didn't feel any urgency to do so now. They both were excited about the change in their relationship and they dreaded to leave each other's sight. Both of them were afraid that the other would change their mind about what they were doing, so they stayed in Booth's bedroom most of Sunday making love and talking.

After a quick trip to the kitchen for some fruit and bottles of water, Booth sauntered back into the room and laughed when he found Brennan sitting up in his bed, naked with her lap top resting on her lap. "What are you doing?"

Quickly typing her notes, Brennan saved the file, closed the lap top and placed it on the nightstand. "I made a few notes for the book I'm working on. That particular move you made an hour ago was new to me and I would like to use it in my book."

Both shocked and embarrassed, Booth moved over the bed, handed her an apple, a bottle of water and slid onto the mattress next to her. "Um, you're going to use how I make love to you in your book?" He wasn't sure if he should be proud or mortified that the world was going to read about his way of doing things in bed.

"Well, I did use Hodgins sexual position on page 187 in my previous book." Brennan broke the seal on her bottle of water. "Your move is much more . . . well fulfilling. I decided that Agent Andy will allow Kathy to experience that same fulfillment as well."

"It was fulfilling huh?" Booth decided that if she thought his moves were better than Hodgins' then who was he to argue? "Okay, sure why not?" Booth drank the entire bottle of water and placed the empty bottle on the nightstand. "I got better moves, just so you know that."

Intrigued, Brennan bit into her apple and scanned Booth's body from his tousled hair to his bare toes. "Well, I'm more than willing to see what they are, Booth."

Taking a bite from his apple, Booth snickered. "I'll bet."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Reluctantly, Booth and Brennan decided that they had to go to work on Monday. The morning arrived and with it reality. Before they left the apartment, Booth pulled Brennan into his embrace and kissed her. "Hey, let's not tell anyone about us yet. Let's enjoy this as long as possible before our nosy friends decide our business is their business. You know they're going to want details and this . . . what we have right now isn't any of their damn business, at least not yet."

Her lips sought out his lips and kissed him firmly and passionately. Satisfied for the moment, she moved away and picked up her purse from the table in the hallway. "Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea. We can wait for a week or two before we tell them. What's ours is ours."

"You're damn right." Booth pulled her back towards him and pressed her against his body. "God, I don't want to let you go . . . it's stupid I know, but I just don't want to let you out of my sight. Is that creepy? It seems a little creepy to me."

Brennan kissed him tenderly on the lips and rubbed his back. "No, it's actually how I feel, but we must go to work. We're still looking for Brodsky."

Reality rearing its ugly head, Booth sighed. "Yeah, we need to find him before he kills anyone else." Letting her go, Booth opened his wall safe, removed his gun and badge and closed the safe. "We need to do some laundry tonight. I'm going to have to go commando in a few days if we don't."

Opening the front door, Brennan glanced back. "I'm going to go shopping this morning. I need to buy a few extra things. I need some toiletries to keep here. In the future, I should keep at least a week's worth of clothes here. Once my apartment is clean, you should do the same and bring over at least a week's change of clothes and place them in the spare bedroom."

Booth definitely liked the sound of that. "Sounds like a plan. Of course, I don't plan to wear a lot of clothes at your apartment."

Amused, Brennan laughed. "Well, you will need some clothes when you answer the door for food deliveries or in case someone else decides to be careless and cause another fire in my apartment building."

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Most of that Monday, Booth and Brennan exchanged numerous text messages, most them bordering on an X rating. Brennan had starting it by sending Booth a message detailing a fantasy she'd had about him in the past and Booth had replied with one of his own. The messages got racier and racier until Angela walked into Brennan's office and found the anthropologist clutching her phone and her skin flushed a deep red.

Concerned for her friend, Angela stood next to the desk and interrupted Brennan's texting. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

Quickly shutting off her phone, Brennan placed it in her lab coat pocket. "No . . . well yes. Booth is getting frustrated."

"About Brodsky?" Angela walked over to the couch and sat down. "Don't let him talk to you badly, Bren. It's not our fault no one can seem to find him."

"Of course." Brennan realized that she's almost betrayed their secret and the last thing she wanted was for Booth to fuss at her about not being able to keep secrets. He had requested a meeting with Deputy Director Cullen for Thursday when he planned to tell him about their relationship change. Booth was certain their partnership was safe, but Brennan wasn't so sure. She had assured him that their relationship was solid and no matter what happened, she would not break up their new found relationship. "He's just afraid that Brodsky will kill someone else before we can locate him."

Angela noticed that Brennan's expression was calmer and she was more relaxed. "I guess we're all on edge. I gave Booth a way to track Brodsky if the man calls Booth again. Hopefully that will hurry things along."

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

The days flashed by and Brodsky did the one thing that no one had counted on. He tried to assassinate Booth. Booth's superiors assumed that the man had followed Booth around town for a few days and found out that he was visiting the Lab at least once a day. Booth never saw him and thought it was more likely that he had paid someone at the Lab to keep him informed. No matter how he did it, Brodsky decided to strike there to make a statement. He probably thought it would intimidate the people at the Lab if one of their own was killed amongst them.

With a precision that bordered on the miraculous, Brodsky did kill someone on the platform from above, but it wasn't Booth. The young intern Vincent Nigel-Murray had taken the phone from Booth while the agent had made an effort to track down Brodsky's call and Brodsky used that action to determine his target. Later he would shake his head at Booth and wonder how lucky someone could be to make someone else a target of an assassination.

The evening before Brodsky was finally captured, Booth insisted that Brennan stay at his apartment. There were fewer windows so Booth felt they would be safer than at her apartment. The cleaning people had finished cleaning her apartment earlier than they had thought they would, so she was supposed to move back to her apartment that evening. Afraid for her safety, Booth argued against it. Since she didn't really want to be away from Booth she had readily agreed.

To his surprise, once they were back at his apartment, Brennan had insisted on sleeping on the couch. She wanted Booth to have a good night's rest since he was going after Brodsky as soon as they could locate him. She knew that Booth was a light sleeper just from the few days they had slept together and she was afraid her restlessness would keep him awake.

Booth hadn't really understood why Brennan refused to sleep with him that night and deep down he thought she might blame him for the death of her intern. Afraid to ask, he retired to his bedroom and tried to relax.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

As the hours slipped by, Brennan became more and more emotional when she thought about her dead intern. Vincent had kept begging to stay and somehow she thought the young man had thought she didn't want him to stay. She was confused and filled with guilt and also with terror. In the dark hours of the night, she came to realize just how close she had come to losing the one she loved the most. If Booth hadn't given the phone to Vincent, he would have surely died that day and she was certain that part of her would have died with him.

Though she needed her lover to rest, she had found herself tearful and unable to control her emotions anymore. Unable to solve her problem alone, she felt compelled to talk to the one person she trusted to help her work through her grief.

She awakened him and instantly regretted it. He'd been sound asleep and once awake he'd grabbed his gun from the nightstand and aimed it at her. Aware that Brodsky had broken in to Booth's apartment before, she was sure Booth thought Brodsky might be using her as a shield. After assuring him it was alright to put his gun away, she entered the room and was soon in Booth's arms. His kind words helped her to understand those final tragic moments in Vincent's life and for that she would always be grateful.

He held her in his arms and he feared for her. "Bones, you can't blame yourself for Vincent's death. This is Brodsky's doing. He was the one that killed the boy and he's the one that's going to pay for it, I promise you that."

Worried that he wasn't getting any rest, Brennan moved out of his hold and looked down at him. "You need sleep, Booth. I'm going to go back into the living room. I'm fine now."

Booth shifted on the bed so his body was now entirely on the mattress. Once that was done, he pulled her arm trying to get her to move further on to the bed. "I'll sleep better if you're with me, Bones. Just let me hold you, okay? If you let me hold you then I'll know you're alright and I can get some real sleep."

Gingerly, Brennan moved over so that she was lying next to her lover. His arm moved around her as she lay quietly and they both tried to relax. "I'm worried, Booth. I'm worried that something might happen . . . I'm worried that . . ."

His eyes closed, Booth used his free hand to find her hand and held it in his firm grip. "Bones, we're okay. I'll get Brodsky tomorrow and then we'll tell everyone about us being together. I have too much to live for, for Brodsky to win this thing. I'm not going to leave you. Do you understand?"

The sound of his voice was soothing and so were his choice of words. "Yes, I understand."

As his breathing became quiet and steady, Brennan knew that he'd fallen asleep. Determined to stay awake as long as possible, she found comfort in listening to his breathing. She was not going to lose him. Booth was going to bring down Brodsky and they were going to have a future together.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	6. Chapter 6

(After The Hole the Heart)

Thank you for reviewing my story. This is the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

I don't own Bones, not even a little bit.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day was filled with fear and triumph. Booth was successful in his search with the help from his team and Brodksy was captured. Relieved that Booth hadn't been hurt during his quest, Brennan knew her life was about to change. She didn't do well with change, but this wasn't something she could run away from. These moments were what she had steadily been marching towards since she had finally admitted to herself that she could trust Booth and love him without fear of abandonment.

Earlier that day, she had admitted to Angela that Booth and she were in a physical relationship. She spoke freely and honestly and Angela had listened silently after prodding her friend into explaining what was going on. Now that the time to confess that they were together was upon her to the rest of their friends, Brennan was suddenly nervous.

After the hearse pulled away from The Jeffersonian's loading bay with Vincent's body, Brennan placed her arm around Booth's arm and with a smile they followed their friends into the Jeffersonian. As they moved around the platform, Brennan glanced at Booth, nodded her head and called out to her friends and co-workers. "Booth and I have an announcement to make."

Her hands clasped under her chin, Angela watched with excitement while Booth patted Brennan's hand and blushed slightly. "Not to make a big deal about it . . . well, Bones and I are seeing each other now . . ."

"We're in a monogamous sexual relationship." Brennan didn't want there to be any doubt about what Booth was saying. "We have been for about a week."

Booth was used to Brennan's bluntness and didn't mind at all. After all it was one of the many reasons that he loved her. "So you can stop pushing us and sticking your noses in our business." Booth was staring directly as Sweets and silently dared him to say anything about it.

A little nervous because of the menacing look from Booth, the younger man blushed and rubbed his forehead. "Congratulations."

His eyes mere slits, Booth finally nodded his head. "Thanks."

Unable to stop herself, Angela rushed over to where Brennan was standing and pulled her from Booth's arm. "I'm so happy for you both, Honey."

Hodgins took the opportunity to throw his arms around Booth much to the Agent's discomfort. "Welcome to the family, Man."

Cam chuckled and walked over to where Booth was being held against his will and tapped Hodgins on his shoulder. "Dr. Hodgins I'd like to congratulate Booth too."

Relieved when Hodgins let him go, Booth turned and held his arms out so that Cam could hug him. "Thanks Cam."

Amused, Cam kissed his cheek. "Any time Big Guy."

Not sure if he would be welcome, Sweets held back and kept his hands behind his back. Brennan noticed the younger man's reticence, released Angela and walked over to where the psychologist was standing. A quick glance at Booth, Brennan hugged Sweets and let him go. "You are no longer our psychologist, but our friend Dr. Sweets."

Grateful that Brennan had included him in her circle of friends, Sweets gave her an adoring smile. "Thank you."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day, the couple took the day off and decided to celebrate their change of relationship. They slept late and once they were awake, spent a few hours in bed making love. Brennan had never felt so happy in her life and she knew her boyfriend felt the same way.

After a very late breakfast, they drove over to Brennan's apartment and washed clothes, blankets, comforters and anything else that needed to be washed because of the smokey smell. Brennan set aside several dresses and coats that needed to be dry cleaned and decided to drop them off at the cleaners the next day on the way to work.

While the clothes were in the washing machine, Brennan took the time to inspect her artifacts and made sure that they had been cleaned properly by the Jeffersonian specialists. Once she determined that they were alright, she placed Brainy Smurf and Jasper back on the shelf where they belonged.

Booth stood in the kitchen doorway and watched his lover carefully move the plastic toys on the shelf and smiled. Moving into the living room, he reached for his jacket that was draped over the couch, removed a small object from a pocket and placed the jacket back onto the couch. Using both hands, he kept the object covered and walked over to where Brennan was standing. "You know a few years ago, I drew a line between us . . . it was a bad time in my life. Cam was almost killed by Epps and I ended up killing him."

He saw her open her mouth and he raised his voice a little. "Yeah, you don't think I did kill him, but I was holding his hand and then I wasn't . . . either way, the man died and I blamed myself. I saw what happens when you get close to the people you work with and it scared the hell out me. That could have been you Bones. You could have been the one that Epps had almost killed because I was impatient instead of Cam."

"Booth . . ." Brennan didn't like the fact that Booth was taking responsibility for things that were out of his control. "You . . ."

"Let me talk, Bones." Booth was nervous and he needed to get his point across. "I need to say this and it has to be my way. I'll let you talk afterward . . . anyway I drew that damn line and as our friendship got closer and closer I realized that I shouldn't have put conditions on our friendship. It was a mistake and I didn't know how to undo it . . . not and make sense to you."

Booth glanced at his clasped hands and cleared his throat. "So anyway, I almost lost you to the Gravedigger and it made me wild to think you might disappear from my life and I'd never see you again. Thank God we found you and Hodgins . . . thank God . . . Anyway, we . . . we did our thing solving crimes and then I was kidnapped. I was almost killed on that ship and if it hadn't been for you I would have died and still there was that fucking line between us and I didn't know what to do about it. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I knew that I loved you, but you didn't believe in love and well . . . I just pushed my feelings aside. I had to because . . . then I got that damn brain tumor and I had that coma dream and I saw what we could be like together and it just reminded me that I loved you and . . . God I'm making a mess of this . . . I . . . I pushed you when I shouldn't have. I tried to erase that line in front of the Hoover, but you weren't ready and . . . I fucked up Bones. I fucked up and it took us so long to get back to where we needed to be, but we did and now . . . and now." Booth smiled and shook his head. "I knew I was going to screw this up, but anyway here." Booth removed his left hand from covering his right hand and held out his gift to Brennan.

Surprised, Brennan slowly moved her right hand towards Booth's gift and felt confused. "A rock?"

Booth laughed because he knew he had thoroughly confused her. "That's from the gravel pit where we found you and Hodgins. It was one of the rocks that covered you when I was digging for you and Hodgins. I kept it. It's a reminder to me that even when things are the worst they can be . . . well, evil can be undone, mistakes can be fixed, the lost can be found. Just like Jasper and Brainy Smurf are treasures to you, this rock is something I treasure and I want you to have it."

Taking the rock from his hand, Brennan stared at it and felt a tear fall down her cheek. "I knew you wouldn't give up. I knew you would find me."

Her voice filled with sadness, Booth nodded his head. "I was never going to give up, Bones. I couldn't give up. Just like you didn't give up on me and found me on that ship. Like you forgave me for the crap I put you through . . . You and me . . . well we've made some mistakes, but we're together. After all we've been through we're together." Booth tapped the rock with his finger. "No matter how many obstacles that have been put between us, we've managed to move them aside and . . . I love you Bones. No more lines, no rocks or running to the other side of the planet . . . no barriers between us, Bones. Never again."

Brennan nodded her head and turned to face the bookshelf behind her. Moving Jasper, she created a space between the pig and the Smurf figurine and placed the rock there. Satisfied, she turned and placed her arms around her lover and friend. "I love you, Booth. No more lines no more barriers."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

This story is now complete. Let me know what you think of it. Thank you.


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